Gang carrier for bottles



8- 20, 19441v "r. H. JENKINS 2,212,237

GANG CARRIER FOR BOTTLES Filed Nov. 9, 195a 4 Sheets-Shet 1 Aug. 20. 1'. H. JENKINS- GANG CARRIER FORBOTTLES Filed Nov. 9, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 A a- 0. 1940. T. Hummus 2,212,237

GANG CARRIER FOR BOTTLES Filed NW. 9, 1938 4 Sheets Sheet 4 v Patented Aug. 20, 1940 rauen of which a onsiderablenuniberp hot duce a simple, novel and carried about? One field Qffdse fdr: a'li d 1 at -.m 1 t s are tra p e in cases or m. 8 .10

v P i mailiv eualhcen torjeach=bott le;

- th obi -fiil h r s nt nventi n}; w n dude asimple earrierwhichmay-quicily and e sily be applied jo' a considerable num:

be: oihottleswhile they. still stand in their case,

Jandwhioh'wfll secure empty bottles togetherin 1.1 such relative entire "group or 1 empty bottles may beset in, a casaeaohfincell, v mplr l we l est w its proper {bottles intothecase.

In order to make agang carrier sufllci'ently useful, it is necessary that'it fb' adapted to hold a considerable numberj of bottles and, viewed in one of its aspectsgthepresentinventionmay be said to have .for its'l-objectx q PIQ ucea simple and novel carrierwhich holdbottlessuspendedby their necks in parallel rows, with a handle on the carrier between the rows so that one row of bottles balances the other. r H ."Ihe various features, of novelty whereby my invention. is characterized will hereinaiterflbe pointed'out with particularity in the claims; but,

for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing's,[.wherev Ffigurelfis a side .view of afragment o! a case for bottled beverages, showing therein a few bottles to which one of my improved carriershas been connected; Fig. 2 is a section online 2 -2 l0 of Fig. 1, being a plan view withQthe exception of the handlewhichis insection; Fig. 3 is an end view of the carrier shown in'Figs. 1 and 2,1 no bottles being shown in the carrier; Fig. 4 is a view similarfto Fig. 2, showingthe carrier open as it v is at the time when'it is tobe applied to orre-" moved from the bottles, the cellular casing being "omitted; Fig; 5 is a section on line 5-5 0! Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a sectio'non line li-'6 of Fig.4,the

bottles being omitted; Fig. 7 is a perspectivefview showing th'e two main members of the holder separated from each otheryFlg. 8 is a plan view of one end oi the holder, showinga slightmodiflcation in the bottleneck embracing 'elements;

Fig.9 is a view similar'to Fig. 6, showing a slightly different form of lock or catch; Fig. 10 is a Eachof the wires 5 and 6 is shown-as having Sana i6 r159; snowin a tim reeistill'"anotlier iorni'iofvlockbetweenth twoniain InFlgsi to'lofthedrawin'gs I haveillustrated f 2' om tamer m pdri s m inv n bn 7 4 e; its most highly developed forms and constrii'cted entirely ot-wire. I'Ihe carrier there illustrated is" aesi nedjtoghom six bottles in two rows each *cont ln nslthlree.bbct1es;fb m will be understood I hemws m y *be lengthened or shortened. 1'

j iiflhis particular holder consists of two. main .thej'bodieajoiythe bottleslpositivelv away from "each-other. These three partsare perhaps most clearlyfshown ln'the disassembled condition illus- .Il) trated'irr FlgJ'T. It will be seen from this figure that one 1 the main nartsicom rises two parallel f'wire's land 'Zhaving threecross wires Joverlyingthe sameand welded thereto. One of these 3 cross wires is midway-be'tween the ends of the straight wires and the other two isat the ends. Eachflendfof each of the cross wires is b'entinto a .semi 'circle to form a hook lying in a plane 'parallel with the plane of the wires I and 2; all' -.six hooks.lying at the same plane. The second main membercomprises two parallel wires i and 6 with which are associated three crosswires I;

the spacings between these wires being the same as between the wires 3. h The cross wires I are shown as underlying thewire's. 5 and 6, twoof them being. at theends of the latter wires and the other at themiddle; andthe cross wires and longitudinal wiresbeing welded together. The wires Sand 6 are closer together than the wires and 2, so thatthey maylie in the space between 40 the two lastmentioned wires, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2; thlsbeing permitted byreason oi'jthe fact that the cross wires 3 lie above the [four assembled longitudinal wirs, while the cross wires 1' underlie the longitudinal wires.

two shortupward bends 8' at considerable dis- "tances apart: these'bends serving as ears for the attachment of a wire-supporting handle 9. It will be seen'that the'handle 9 is a U-shaped mem- 50 her halving at the free ends of its arms'eyes III each of'which embraces both ot'the wires 5 and 6 at their corresponding upward bends; The handle is-not applied untilthe two main members or sections of thetcarrierv are' assembled. After 6 5 this has been done, the engaging of the handle 1 with the wires I and 8 provides means to prevent the handled member from droppingdown, be- 3 cause the eyes *Ill rest'on top of thewires I and'2, as clearly appears in Fig. 3. -The third or auxiliary member of the carrier comprises a. pair of parallel wires II and I2 welded to three cross members each of which comprises two connected wire rings I! slightly larger in internal diameter than the diameters of the bodies of the bottles to'be supported. This auxiliary member is supported from the two end wires 3 by means of two hangers ll,each com- -uposed of wire bent ,into the i'orm,of a Y-, the l3 surrounding the straight portion of the correfree endsof-whose arms are'provided with eyes "sponding wire 3, and the lowerend of the stem of whichis in the form of a double eye I! through which extends the wire cross piece is between the, rings 7 H at thatendof the device. The hangers-"aresumciently long-to permit them to jdrop'do wn on to the large body portions of the bottles below the necks 'of the latter at times when the -bottle. necks are held suspended from Ithe. main members of'the carrier.

When the: parts of the carrier are as emb ed,

- the cross wires 3 and 'laiternate withleach other.

Assuming that the main member carrying the crosswires 3 and supporting the underlying auxiliary member to be thestationary one, the other main-member may slide back and forth"in a direction of the length of the wires land 2 between,'a lposition in' which each of 'thewires' I extends-across theopen sides oia. pair of semicircular. hooks l,fas"shown in Fig. 2, which is. the working'positiom' and an open or an idle position in; which the cross wires I, stand faraway from the hooks 'withwliich they are intended tofcoqpierate, as shown'in Fig. ;4. y when the cross wires ,1 in their idle position'sfas shown in Fig. 4,

thefearrier as a whole. may be lowered down over bottlesA, as. shown in Fig. 4, or be lifted therefrom; but, whenfthe cross'wires l are in their working positions, as. shown inFlg. 2,.the necks Tofthebottles are closely embraced. by the hooks "or seats 4 the cooperating parts of the cross wires 1, as shown in Fig. 2' and, ifthe carrier is lifted, thebottles are likewiselifted and hang from the carrier 1 I v It is necessary,'or at least highly desirable, that meansbe provided for locking the two main sections of the carrier in. their relative bottle-supporting positions, so that'the bottles will not ac-. cidentally be released. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1'to '7, there is a catcher dog in- [the form of a piece of 'wire i9 having one'end bent around the wire of one of the eyeslll to form a hinge connection with the latter; andthen extend ng. in the. form of a short arm 20 along side the body portion of the wire l9. This short 'wire'end has jthereon a downwardly pointing hook II. The free end of the main portion of the wire is is bent into an eye 22 positioned above the wire, with the extreme end "projecting downs wardly past the wire to produce a littlepin or flnger- IL Wh en the two main; members of the I I carrier are closed on the bottles, as in Figs. 1 and 2, the pinor finger 24 extends down; behind the intermediate cross wire 3, and prevents the handled member from being moved forwardly, that is toward the openposition of the carrier. When .the carrier is. in its openposition, as indicated in Figs. '4 and "6; thelittle hook 2| on'the short .wire end 20 drops over and in'front of this same cross wire 3, and prevents the carrier f om being-closed until the dog or latch is raised. The parts are so formed that the wire of the dog or latch is placed under stress whenever the dog or latch is in its holding or locking poslplacement of the bottle necks out of the hooks.

It will be'noted'that the connections between the members of the carrier are such that the depending frame member may be swung up so as to lieaflat against the other two members, and the handle may be swung downwardly to lie flat on top of the frame' members. Therefore, the car- 7 rier may be 'collapsed'to form a compact ilat mass 1 for packing and transportation.

Instead of having an almost straight'eross cooperate with a large hook on a cooperating cross wire, both sets oi cross wires may be provided with hooks. Thus, in'Flg. 8. there is illustrated a fragment of a-carrier corresponding to the righthand end of the carrier in Figs; 2 and. '3, in which the arms 1* are provided with books Hflsimilar' to the hooks 4 and oppositely disposed with respect to the latter. 'With such a construction, each bottle neck is engaged in'two diii'erent planesby two hooks, .each extending half around the'sam'e, so that "a group of bottles suspended from the carrier areheld'fairly well' in vertical positions without the use of" the suspended frame which, in the first form of carrier, surrounds each bottle below the neck there- In Fig. 9 there is illustrated a slightly modified {locking dog or catch which comprisesa wire 23 formedat one end with an eye 21 surrounding the wire of one of the handle eyes ll.

ends is bent downwardly to form what may be regarded as a deep,wide, flat lug which performs the functions. of both of thefelements'il and [24 of the flrstform of dog or latch. In other words, when the two main members of the carrier are closed on the bottlenecks, which is the condition illustratedin Fig. 9, one vertical edge of the lug 29 extends down 'behind the middle cross wire 3 and prevents the camel from being opened until the latchis raised. After the latch is lifted and the carrier opened, the latch may again be pressed'down so as, in this instance, to

. lie toward the right of the middle cross wire 3 and have its rear edge in engagement with the latter. The lug being made of resilient wire, the upright wire portions thereof are yieldabie so thatthe lug is pressed tightly against the cross wire in each of its locking positions, and cannot'easily become disengaged therefrom. v v

In Figs. 10 and 11, there is illustrated still another-form ofzlock for the two main members 1 of the carrier. 'If'he lock in this instance is a toggle comprisingtwo. wires 30 and 3| fastened together at their meeting ends by a pin 33 that 7 permitslthem to swing relatively to each other in a vertical plane. The remaining. end of the wire 30 is formed intb an eye 3| surrounding the wire of one of the eyes 10 of the carriage handle,

The .other, end of the wire is bent into a ring-like iinger piece 28; A section of the wire between the two whi e the remaining end of the other wire 3| is 75 formed into an eye surrounding the central fcrojss wire 3. The eye I! to which the toggle is con nected in this former lockis not the-same eyeto which the first and second form of latchor dog are secured, but is the eye attheother end of the handle, so that thetoggle lies-beyond the handle :tiormed into a ring'-like.:.finger piece -36 which ened; and'prevents the toggle iromswingingtoo rests on the wire llwhen the toggleis straightiar past center.

In Fig. 12 there is illustrated miner im of securing device to prevent the bottles from being accidentally released; thisidevice being located in the same position as is the toggle in Figs. 10

and 11. The holding device in Fig. 12 is simply a coiled compression springii arranged between the same eye l and cross wire 3 to which the toggle in Fig. is connected. The spring is rier maybe brought under such initial compression that it always holds the carrier in a closed state, until a sumcient lateral pull is exerted on the handle further to compress the spring.

It will be seen that all of the few forms of my invention illustrated are adapted to pick up the desired number of bottles from a case, by simply lowering the carrier, in an open position, over the bottle necks and then closing it. The empty bottles may likewise be returned to the ease in a group, by simply setting them down in the case and then opening the carrier to release it there-' from.

With the forms of latches or dogs illustrated in Figs. 1 to 9, the opening and closing 01' the carabout by pushing or pulling on the finger pieces of the latches. In the case of constructions shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the locking and unlocking of the relatively slidable members can only be accomplished along with a relative sliding movement of the carrier members. In other words, when the toggle isv broken by raising the hinge joint at the middle, the slides are shifted into their unlocking positions and, when the toggle is again straightened, the

slides are shifted thereby into their bottle-holdlng positions.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, with a few simple modifications, I

do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims. I claim: I 1. A carrier for a plurality of bottles or other articles having necks, comprising two members slidably connected together for limited relative movements, said members being shaped to form between them in one relative position a plurality of openings each adapted to receive the neck of an article and hold the lattersuspended and in a second relative position to cause the openings to be altered in a manner to release the articles,

a frame at some distancebelow said members to engage movement relative to'the others, and suspending as indicated in Figs.)

each article and hold it against lateral and to fsaid li articlesj havlng necks,

end Lot eachi crosswire on ne member and the adjacent end oifla crosswire on the other member being shaped to cooperate in embracing the "neck of an article in one relative position of said members and to permit the neck tobe inserted in, or removed from the carrier.

3. A carrier for a plurality of bottles or other articles having necks, comprising two members each composed of two parallel-longitudinal wires and a plurality of cross wires welded to the longitudinal wires, the longitudinal wires of one member lying between and slidable lengthwise along the longitudinal wires of the second member and its cross wires underlying the second-member, elements on thefirst of said members spaced apart from each other lengthwise oi the carrier and resting slidably on the longitudinal wires of the second member, each cross wire on one member having hooks at its ends, and the cross wires on the other member being shaped to cooperate with the hooks to embrace the necks or articles in one relative position of saidmembers and to permit the necks to be inserted in or removed from the carrier.

4. It carrier for a plurality of bottles or other articles having necks, comprising two members each composed of a pair of parallel longitudinal slidable along .,the; longitudinal wiresoi; the second member, each r m se r cbnii etbas q afl'member mewher s helh eri e i: "-s stu n ier at ss s l s;

11 =2. -A,carrier,ior a. plurality 0! bottles or. other cornprisingtwo members .each composed oi. .two parallel longitudinal wires and a group of cross wires welded to the longitudinal wires, one pair of longitudinal wires ,being spaced only a short distance apart and y bottle in one'relative position of said members.

v 5. A carrier for a plurality of bottles or other articles having necks, comprising two members each composed of a pair of parallel longitudinal wires and a group or cross wires welded to the longitudinal wires, one pair of longitudinal wires being spaced only a short distance apart' and the wires of the second pair being spaced apart only them, the cross wires on said first pair lying far enough to permit the first pair to lie between underneath all of the longitudinal wires and the cross wires on the second pair overlying all or the longitudinal wires; a handle extending lengthwise oi the wires of the said first pair and connected thereto at its ends, each end of each cross wire of one group and the corresponding end of an adjacent wire in ,the'other group being shaped to embrace the neck 0! a bottle in one relatirei position of we and me to lock said niembersin said relative position; Q' -A'parrier for a; plurality of bottleanr other artlelesihaving-heeks; comprising twoimembers '5 each :oiaipair of parallel longitudi'rialw wires and" a -gjrou pr cross: wireagwelded to. the

longitudinal minimum. oiloneltudinal' being spaced "apart and the; wires of the seeond *pair-ibeifia Wed apart 10 "only i'ar elhouthto-Permit am pair to vue between them, the cross on 'saidfirst pair I lying underneath all 'oif' the longitudinal wires the cross "wires on thefseconcl pair overlying [all of thelongitudinal' wires;-'and a handleex- 15*tending'lengthwise oi the wiresvof'the said first pair and havingeyes-at its endsj embracing the [latter ag s-each end of-v each cross wire of one groiipaand-the. corresponding end of an adjacent I fwi in'the'other groupLbeing' shapedto embrace 201;tl1e neck" i "a'--bottle in;ijone relative position or articles having; nee-d eaming two members [each composed of a pair of parallel. longitudinal wires and a group of cross wires welded to the :longitndinal wires, one pair; of longitudinal wires beingspaoed only ashort distance apart and the 5 ,wiresoi' second vpair'being spaced apart only i'arenopgh to permit-the first pair to lie between them';-'the 'roas wires on said first p'air lying underneath all of the longitudinalwires and the cross wireaon the second pair'overlying. all 01' 10 the longitudinal wires a and a handle extending lengthwise of the wires of the said first pair and havlng ey es at its ends embracing the latter wires, each -endfoif each cross wire oione group'and the corresponding end or an-sadjacent wire in the-15 otherj group-being shaped to embrace the neck of a bottle in .one relative position of 'saidmembers, and a'catch interlocked at one end withlone of said eyes and adapted to be engaged at its other end with one a: the arms on the second 20 pair of longitudinalr'wireag A v TAZEWELL H. JENKINS.- 

